US Border Patrol

9/6/135:09 am

Published: September 6, 2013Updated: June 2, 2018

By Nathan Swartz

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When you’re in Southern Texas and Arizona, there are border patrol stations some 60 miles or so from the actual border. So if you visit places like Bisbee, AZ or Terlingua, TX, you go through them whether you’ve been to Mexico or not. Though not always, they are often staffed by people of Mexican descent. I don’t know if that’s on purpose or merely a matter of demographics. Either way, we’ve done it maybe fifty times and never even ever once had any sort of difficulty. In fact, aside from national park rangers, they’re really the only law enforcement I’ve ever cared much for.

Coming back to the US from Canada though? What a doozie. These guys were intense. Yes, we were obviously crossing at a busy area between Vancouver and Seattle. And yes, they’re protecting freedom and screaming eagles and shit like that.

But man…the way they were speaking to some people, mostly Asians, was intense. Questioning them as though they were under deep suspicion and right out in the open. Perhaps there’s some Code Indigo threat I’m unaware of at the moment, but we all agreed it was a bit obtuse.

I guess for my own part though, it’s amazing how the border crossing that would seem less a threat was so much more intense than the one where the big debates over fences and drugs and gun smuggling all dominate news coverage.

Published: September 6, 2013Updated: June 2, 2018

Nathan is the Editor-in-Chief around these parts, and has been traveling by train, bike, VW Bus and Airstream since 2008. He's on Instagram.